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M a y 2 0 0 6
P a r t N o : 5 8 4 6 9
BMC Rem edy Action Request System 7.0
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy DSO
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BMC Sof tw are, Inc.www. bmc. com
Cop yright 19912006 BMC Software, In c. All rights reserved.
BMC, the BMC logo, all oth er BMC pr od uct or service nam es, BMC Software, the BMC Software logos, andall other BMC Software produ ct or service nam es, are registered tradem arks or tradem arks of BMC
Software, Inc. All other trad emar ks belong t o th eir respective com panies.
BMC Software, Inc., considers inform ation included in th is docum entation to be prop rietary andconfidential. Your use of this inform ation is subject to the term s and con ditions of the applicable end u serlicense agreem ent or n ond isclosure agreem ent for the pro duct an d the pr oprietary and restricted rightsnot ices included in this docum entation .
For license inform ation abo ut the O penSource files used in th e licensed p rogram , please readOpenSour ceLi censes. pdf . This file is in th e\ Doc folder of the distribution CD -ROM and in the
docum entation download portion of the product down load page.
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252.227-7014, DFARS 252.227-7015, and D FARS 252.227-7025, as amend ed from time to tim e. Contr actor/M anu facturer is
BMC Software, Inc., 2101 CityWest Blvd., Hou ston, TX 77042-2827, USA. Any contract no tices shou ld be sent to t his addr ess.
Conta cting UsIf you n eed technical suppo rt for this produ ct, cont act Custom er Sup port b y em ail at suppor t @r emedy . com.If you have com m ents or suggestions about th is docum entation , cont act Information D evelopm ent byemail at doc_f eedback@bmc. com.
This edition app lies to version 7.0 of the licensed program .
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Contents 3
Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Aud ien ce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
AR System doc um ents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Learn about the AR System D eveloper Com mu nity . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Wh y should you participate in the Developer Com m un ity? . . . . . . . . 10H ow do you access the Developer Com m un ity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Chapter 1 Using the distr ibuted server environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Ove rview of the D istributed Server Op tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
U sing the D istributed Server Op tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Using DSO with server group s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Man aging the exchange of inform ation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Using Distribu ted Server Op tion form s. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Using distribu ted m app ings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Usin g distr ibu ted fields . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Usin g distr ibu ted po ols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Usin g req uest IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
D efining distributed op eration s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using distribu ted tran sfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Using distribu ted up dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Using distribu ted retu rn s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Using distribu ted deletes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Ove rview of setting up distributed op eration s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
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4 Contents
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Chapter 2 Licensing DSO . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
O verview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Chapter 3 Conf iguring the distributed server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33Setting up the local and remo te D SO servers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Con figur ing a local AR System server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Con figur ing a rem ote AR System server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
U pgrading previou s versions of AR System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Specifying a D SO ho st nam e for distributed m appings . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Co nfiguring overwrite behavior for dup licatereque st ID s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Co nfiguring the RPC timeo ut setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Co nfiguring D SO for load balancing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
U sing debu g trace m od e to create log files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Chapter 4 Implement ing the Distr ibuted Server Opt ion . . . . . . . . . . . 49
W orking with distributed fields on forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Using th e distribu ted fields wind ow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
W orking with distributed m appings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Using th e distribu ted m app ing wind ow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Creat ing and m odifyin g distribu ted m app ings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Specifying distribu ted m app ing basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Specifying distribu ted m app ing opt ions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65Specifying distribu ted m app ing tran sfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Specifying distributed m apping returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Settin g distribu ted m app ing help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
Viewing and m odifying distributed m apping change history . . . . . . . . 77
W orking with distributed po ols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Using th e distribu ted poo l wind ow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79Creat ing and deleting distribu ted poo ls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Mo difying distribu ted poo l objects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
U sing filters and escalation s for D SO actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Creat ing DSO action s in filters an d escalation s . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Creatin g DSO actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
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Contents 5
Adm inistering BM C Remedy D SO
Co ntrolling pen ding transfer inform ation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Using the pend ing distributed operations window . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
H ow erro rs affect pen din g distribu ted operation s . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Chapter 5 Creat ing Distr ibuted Server Opt ion workflow . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Basic distributed op eration s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94
D istribute d transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Addin g distribu ted fields to your form s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
Creat ing distribu ted m app ings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Creatin g a filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98D istribute d up dates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
D istribute d returns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 1
D istribute d dele tes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 3
Appendix A Advanced topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Setting up chain ed distribu ted transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Special con sideration s for chain ed distribu tion . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Definin g a chain ed distribu ted tran sfer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Broad cast distribu ted transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Using broad cast tran sfers to m anage DSO from a central location . . . . 117
Appendix B Distributed Server Administrat ion program . . . . . . . . . . . 121
Ove rwriting basic fields exam ple . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
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6 Contents
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
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Preface 7
Preface
Important: The com patibility information listed in th e prod uct
docu m entation is subject to ch ange. See the com patibility matrix at ht t p: /
/ suppor t web. r emedy. comfor the latest, most com plete inform ation abou t
what is officially supp ort ed.
Carefully read th e system requirem ents for your particular operating
system, especially the n ecessary patch requ irem ents.
Audience
This guide for adm inistrators who are responsible for setting up andm aintain ing the BMC Remed y Distribu ted Server O ption .
As the adm inistrator, you shou ld be familiar with BMC Rem edy User an d
BMC Remedy Adm inistrator client to ols. It is also helpful to h ave an
un derstanding of how to adm inister distributed applications.
This guide assum es that you are familiar with th e inform ation con tained in
the following help systems and m anuals:
BM C Rem edy User H elp
Configuring
Form and A pplication O bjects
W orkflow O bjects
Concepts
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8 Preface
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
AR System docum ents
The following table lists docum entat ion available for AR System p rod uct s.
Un less otherwise not ed, online docum entation in Adobe Acrobat ( PDF)
form at is available on AR System pro du ct installation CD s, on the Cu stomer
Sup por t site (suppor t web. r emedy. com), or both.
You can access produ ct Help throu gh each pr odu cts H elp m enu o r by
clicking on H elp links.
Tit le Descript ion AudienceConcepts Overview of AR System architecture and features with
in-depth examples; includes inform ation abou t other
AR System prod ucts as well as a com prehen sive glossary
for th e entire AR System docum entation set.
Everyone
In stallin g Procedures for installing AR System . Adm inistrators
Getting Started Intro duces topics that are usually only learned when first
startin g to use the system, includin g logging in, searching
for objects, and so on .
Everyone
Form and Application O bjects Describes comp on ents necessary to b uild applications in
AR System , includ ing applications, fields, form s, and
views.
Developers
W orkflow O bjects Con tains all of the workflow inform ation. Developers
Configuring Con tains inform ation about con figuring AR Systemservers and clients, localizing, im portin g and exporting
data, and archiving data.
Administrators
In sta llin g an d A dm in isterin g
BM C Rem edy M id T ier
Contains inform ation about the m id tier, including m id
tier installation and configuration , and web server
configuration.
Administrators
In tegra ting with Plu g-in s an d
T hird-Party Products
Discusses integrat ing AR System with extern al system s
using plug-ins and other p rodu cts, including LDAP,OLE, and ARDBC.
Administrators
/Develo pers
Optim izing and
Troubleshooting
Server adm inistratio n to pics and techn ical essays related
to m onitoring and m aintaining AR System for the
pur pose of optim izing perform ance and troubleshooting
problems.
Administrators
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AR System document s 9
Adm inistering BM C Remedy D SO
Dat abase R eferen ce Database adm inistration t opics and rules related to ho w
AR System in teracts with specific databases; includ es an
overview of the data d ictionar y tables.
Administrators
A dm in isterin g BM C Rem edy
DSO
Server adm inistration and procedu res for im plemen ting
a distributed AR System server environm ent with the
BMC Rem edy Distributed Server Op tion (D SO) .
Administrators
A dm in isterin g BM C Rem edy
Flashboards
Flashboards adm inistration and pr ocedures for creating
and m odifying flashboar ds and flashboards com pon ents
to display and m onitor AR System inform ation.
Administrators
/Pr ogram m ers
C API Reference Information about AR System data structures, C API
function calls, and O LE support .
Administrators
/Pr ogram m ers
C API Q uick Reference Quick reference to C API function calls. Adm inistrators
/Pr ogram m ers
Java A PI* Inform ation about Java classes, meth ods, and variables
that integrate with AR System.
Administrators
/Pr ogram m ers
A dm in isterin g BM C Rem edy
Em ail Engine
Procedur es for installing, configuring, and using the
BMC Remedy Email Engine.
Administrators
Error M essages List and expand ed description s of AR System error
messages.
Administrators
/Pr ogram m ers
M aster Index Com bined index of all books. Everyone
Release N otes Inform ation about new features list, com patibility lists,
internat ional issues, and open and fixed issues.
Everyone
BMC Rem edy User H elp Procedures for using BMC Rem edy User. Everyone
BMC Rem edy Im port H elp Procedures for using BMC Rem edy Im port. Adm inistrators
BMC Remedy Adm inistrator
Help
Procedur es for creating and m odifying an AR System
application for tracking data an d p rocesses.
Administrators
BMC Rem edy Alert H elp Procedures for using BMC Rem edy Alert. Everyone
BMC Remedy Mid T ier
Con figuration Too l Help
Procedures for configuring the BMC Remedy Mid Tier. Administrators
*. A JAR file containin g the Java API docum entation is installed with th e AR System server.
Typically, it is stor ed in C: \ Pr ogr am Fi l es\ AR Sys t em\ Ar ser ver \ Api \ doc\ ar doc70. j ar on
Windows and/ usr / ar // api / doc/ ar doc70. j ar on UN IX.
Tit le Descript ion Audience
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10 Preface
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Learn about t he AR System Developer Com m unity
If you are interested in learning m ore abou t AR System, looking for an
opp ortu nity to collaborate with fellow AR System developers, and searchingfor additional resour ces that can benefit your AR System solution , then th is
on line global com m un ity sponsored by BMC Rem edy is for you.
In th e Developer Com m un ity, you will find collaboration too ls, prod uct
inform ation, resou rce links, user grou p inform ation, and b e able to pro vide
BMC Remed y with feedback.
The D eveloper Com m un ity offers the following too ls and information :
Community message board
Community Downloads
AR System Tips & Tricks
Com m un ity recom mend ed resources
Product inform ation
User Experience Design t ips
Why should you participate in th e D eveloper Com m unity?
You can benefit from participating in the Developer Co m m un ity for the
following r easons:
The com m un ity is a direct result of AR System developer feedback.
BMC Remedy pro vides un suppo rted applications and utilities by way of
Com m un ity Down loads, an AR System application.
BMC Rem edy posts the latest AR System p rod uct inform ation in th e
Developer Com m un ity to keep you up to d ate.
It is an op por tun ity to directly imp act produ ct direction thr ou gh online
and em ail surveys.
Its free!
How do you access the D evelop er Com m unity?
Go to suppor t web. r emedy. com, and click the D eveloper C om m un ity link.
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Using the distribut ed server environm ent 11
Chapter
1Using t he dist r ibu t ed serverenvi ronment
The BMC Remed y Distributed Server O ption (DSO) lets you tran sfer data
between forms on different servers whether th e servers are on th e sam e host
or on p hysically different h osts. Th is op tion is available on both W indowsand UN IX servers, and is configured thro ugh BMC Remedy Adm inistrator.
The following topics are provided :
Overview of the Distributed Server O ption ( page 12)
Using the Distributed Server Option ( page 12)
Man aging the exchange of inform ation (page 14)
Defining distributed o perations (page 20)
Overview of setting up d istributed o perations (page 29)
Note: Before using the Distribut ed Server Op tion , you shou ld be fam iliar
with the features and functions of both BMC Rem edy User and BMC
Remedy Adm inistrator. If you are no t yet fam iliar with the AR System ,
review BMC Remed y User help, the Concepts guide, the Configuring guide,th e Form and A pplication O bjects guide and th e W orkflow O bjects guide
before contin uing.
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12 Chapter 1 Using the distributed server environm ent
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Overview of the D istribu ted Server Opt ion
To un derstand the function o f the D istributed Server Option , imagine that
your com pany is run ning AR System in a single-server environm ent alltransaction s that ru n o n th e client m achines exchan ge data with on e server.
All data on that server is cur rent, m eaning that it is never u pdated from
sources other th an its conn ected clients.
You add a site with AR System on a different server, so you n eed a solut ion
that lets you exchange data between similar o r d ifferent forms on the two
servers, and that keeps requests on both system s current. Th e Distributed
Server O ption helps you configure and m aintain th ese data exchanges, andestablishes tim e intervals for data transfer, up date, and retur n.
Note: The D istributed Server O ption in p re5.0 versions of AR System was a
separate service. Start ing with version 5.0, DSO is nota separate service
it has its own execu table file, which is included in t he AR System Server
and is started by ar moni t or . Upgrading to a version o f 5.0 or later r emo ves
th is service.
Using the D istributed Server Op tion
The D istributed Server O ption has m any uses. These include, but ar e not
lim ited to:
Transferring requ ests to th e location at which th ey can b e pr ocessed.
For example, you r com pan y services office fur n iture. Desks are repaired in
San Francisco, and chairs are repaired in Ch icago. When someon e in San
Francisco creates a broken chair requ est, the requ est can be autom atically
tran sferred to a server in Ch icago. If the r equest n eeds a specialists
attention, for exam ple, ripped uph olstery, the r equest can be tr ansferred
to a different server that h and les uph olstery repairs.
Tran sferring requ ests between regions in a 24-hou r, seven- days-per- week
customer sup port environm ent. You can configure th e Distributed Server
Op tion to autom atically forward open prob lem requests to the next site at
the close of the b usiness day in the curren t r egion.
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Using th e Distribut ed Server Opt ion 13
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
For exam ple, your com pan y has customer sup por t centers in San
Francisco, Paris, and Tokyo. You can forward op en requ ests from San
Francisco to Tokyo at th e end o f the San Fran cisco bu siness day, when it
is early in Tokyos next business day. In t ur n, op en requests can be
forwarded from Tokyo to P aris at the end of the To kyos business day.
Th is app roach h elps alleviate down t ime.
Creating a d istributed knowledge base, so that pro blem -solving
inform ation is accessible from any location.
For exam ple, you can create filters or escalations that in struct th e
Distributed Server O ption to forward requests closed on one server to all
oth er servers in the environm ent. All servers have access to the p rob lem -solving inform ation an d solutions con tained in the closed r equests.
Archiving o ld requ ests.
Th is featu re is helpful if you have a server ded icated to ar chival functions
in your environ m ent. Closed requ ests can be sent to th e archive server and
stored in on e place. Addition ally, archiving closed requ ests frees up m ain
servers for users who n eed access to the inform ation for rep orts or otherresour ce-inten sive tasks.
Using D SO w ith server group s
Using DSO with a server grou p provides autom atic failover capab ility for
tran sfer operation s typically restricted to o ne server.
To u se DSO in a server group environm ent, you configure your server grou pas described in Configuring. Then, when you create a distributed m apping
and you specify a server (belonging to a server group ) from which the
tran sfers will originat e, you also specify whether any server in th e grou p can
send t he tr ansfer. See Specifying d istributed m apping basics on page 63.
Note: For distribu ted retu rns, distributed deletes and u pdates within an
own ership chain , you canno t use a server group as the target you m ust
specify a server explicitly. Such a mappin g will only work for th e specified
server an d will no t m ake use of the server group in t he event of a system
failure.
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14 Chapter 1 Using the distributed server environm ent
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
M anaging th e exchang e of information
The BMC Remedy Distribut ed Server O ption pro vides a mu ltithreaded
process that lets you cop y AR System requ ests between servers and keeprequ ests synchron ized across mu ltiple servers, even if tho se servers are
geographically d ispersed.
You can m anage the exchange of infor m ation in the following ways:
Creating distributed m appings between forms.
Distribut ed m appings are mo st comm only used to link fields with like
field ID s or field n am es between sim ilar or different form s. You can alsouse distributed m appings to create custom m appings that link a selection
of similar or different fields, or th at link a single field to m ultiple fields.
Distributed m appings define how data is transferred from on e form to
anoth er, how frequen tly up dates are processed, and how conflicts in
distribut ed o perations are resolved.
Adding distributed fields to forms.
Adding distributed fields to form s lets you m anage distributed m apping in
ownership-based tran sfers. The th ree grou ps of distribu ted fields basic,
full, and ad vanced provide different levels of con tro l over d istribu ted
mappings.
Defining distributed po ols to h and le specific DSO wo rkflow action s.
Distributed poo ls let the DSO pr ocess man y distributed o perations
sim ultan eously. You can cr eate distribu ted po ols and assign DSO actionsto t hese poo ls for parallel processing, which m inim izes delays and
significantly increases the outp ut of distribu ted operation s when D SO
activity is heavy. For m ore inform ation abo ut creating an d wo rking with
distribu ted po ols, see Wor king with distribut ed pools on page 78.
Assigning unique request ID prefixes.
Althou gh requ est IDs are no t DSO-specific, the ability to tailor th e form atof request IDs is an im por tant feature for d istributed operations. Setting
up un ique requ est IDs p revent s dup licate requests on d ifferent servers,
and lets you specify what action will be taken sho uld a du plicate request
occur.
Ad i i i BM C R d D SO
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M anaging the exchange of information 15
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
Using D istribut ed Server Option form s
After licensing, the Distributed Server Op tion au tom atically add s th ree
requ ired form s. The following list describes each type of form :
D istributed Mapping form D efines and m aintains parameter an d d ata
cont rol values of specific distribu ted m app ings.
D istributed Pending form M aintains a queue of pend ing distributed
transfers, updates, returns, and deletes.
D istributed Poo l form Defines and m aintain s definition s of specific
distributed poo ls.
You can tran sfer entries in the D istributed M apping and Distribu ted Pool
form s to their coun terparts on rem ote servers, using the instru ction s in t his
docum entation for m apping any form s.
WARNING: Do not m odify or d elete these form s.
Using distributed m app ings
Con figuring m appings for a d istributed operation is an im por tant first step
toward designing a distribu ted system. Map pin gs are created as objects on
the server and stored on the Distribut ed Mapp ing form . The m apping
definition includ es resolving du plicate request IDs and han dling certain d ata
contro ls, such as transfer m ode, up date, and retry intervals.By specifying m ultiple m app ings between two form s, you can explicitly
choose the type of m apping app rop riate for each situation.You can also
specify default mappings if the AR System find s mu ltiple mapp ings
app licable to th e specified tr ansfer criteria.
Con figurin g mappings is a simp le process if you are tran sferring data
between two iden tical form s. If you are tran sferrin g data between different
form s, you n eed to determ ine which fields are m app ed to specific fields (an d
in som e cases, which m ultiple fields are map ped to single fields) in the
target form .
You also n eed to con sider t he results of map ping fields of un equal size or
m app ing fields con taining different d ata types, such as a character field
m app ed to a d ate or tim e field. If a sou rce field type exceeds the limitation s
of a target field t ype, for example, the field length , the distribu ted operation
will result in an erro r.
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Wh en creating the filter or escalation th at triggers a distribut ed op eration ,
you can specify which m app ing to u se, or let th e system select a default
m app ing. You can also override th e details of a mapping for a par ticular
distribu ted op eration before it occurs by assigning values in th e distributed
fields that you add to th e form s. For m ore inform ation abou t overriding
m app ing settings, see Overriding map ping settings on a per-r equest basis
on page 23.
For mo re inform ation about m appings, see Creating and m odifying
distributed mappings on p age 60.
Using d istributed fieldsYou m ust add distributed fields to form s to m anage ownership-based
transfers. You can override m uch of the m appings definition by adding
distributed fields directly into your d istributed forms. For inform ation abo ut
own ership-b ased transfers, see Using distributed tran sfers on p age 20.
Note: For information abou t ownership , see Owner ship and own ershipchains on page 21.
You can add three group s of distribu ted fields to your forms to sup por t
distribu ted operation sBasic, Full, and Advanced . The following list
describes each type:
Basiclets you m ake transfers with ownership. The Distribu ted ServerOp tion sets the values for th ese fields.
For example, if you want to kno w where a request cam e from , you can
review the From Form and From Server fields for in form ation.
Fullin cludes the Basic fields. Gives you greater con tro l over the choice
of map pings when a possible conflict between m app ings exists, and it
provides m apping history inform ation . You set som e of these fields, and
the system sets oth ers.
For exam ple, if you wan t to kn ow where a requ est was tran sferred , you can
review the To Mapp ing, To Form , and To Server fields for inform ation.
Advancedincludes the Basic and Full fields. Lets you override t he
settings previously defined for a m apping in t he D istribut ed Map ping
window.
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M anaging the exchange of information 17
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For examp le, if you want t o override the m ethod of distributed transfer
operations from d ata-only to data+own ership, you can m odify the
Transfer M ode d istributed field. For inform ation abou t u sing distributed
fields to alter a m apping for a particular distribut ed op eration, see
Creating DSO action s in filters and escalations on page 82.
The following tab le shows the d istribu ted fields available for each grou p.
Table 1-1: Distributed field groups and associated field names
Distributed field group Field nam e
Basic Transfer status
Update status
Master flag
From Request ID
From Form
From Server
From Pool
Full To Mappin g
From Mapping
To Request ID
To Form
To Server
Advanced Mapping H istory
Current Form
Cur rent Server
When to Update
Transfer Mode
Du plicate Request ID Action
Max time to retry
Enforce Pattern M atching
Require Required Fields
Matchin g Q ualification
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For instru ction s about adding d istributed fields, and for descriptions o f each
field, see Working with distributed fields on form s on page 50.
Using d istribut ed poolsDistribu ted po ols, like distribu ted m app ings, are created as objects on the
server, and stored o n the D istributed Pools form . Distributed pools let you
use m ultiple pools (threads) to accurately process pendin g distributed
operations du ring periods of heavy distribu ted activity. You can define
several pools and associate each DSO oper ation with a p ool.
All pendin g DSO operation s within each p ool are executed in order.Therefore, you m ust consider the interdepen dencies between t he form s
within an application all distributed operations associated with on e form,
and on interdepend ent form s, should use the sam e pool to m ake sure the
ord er of execut ion is correct.
You can u se different p ools for un related distributed o perations, or when
send ing data-on ly or independ ent copies of requests to different
destinations.
For exam ple, you r system is experiencing heavy distribu ted activity, and you
have mu ltiple data-only or independ ent copy tran sfers pending from
different applications. Because these operations d o n ot need to b e com pleted
in a p articular or der, you can assign th em to d ifferent poo ls.
You can designate on e poo l as the d efault poo l, or u se the default poo l
created by the system . If you do no t create any distribu ted pools, or assign anoperation to a pool that d oes not exist, the pend ing distributed o peration is
han dled by the default poo l. For inform ation abou t creating, mo difying, and
deleting distribut ed pool ob jects, see Working with distributed p ools on
page 78.
Using req uest IDs
Perhaps the mo st impo rtan t comp on ent of a request in a distributed
environm ent is the request ID . Like the nam e of a person, th is is the piece of
data you will most likely use to identify and track ind ividu al requests, and it
shou ld be un ique. Requ ests entered on the same server will have different
requ est IDs. Requests ent ered on two differen t servers can h ave the sam e
requ est ID, causing conflicts when r equests are tran sferred o r shared b etween
the servers.
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M anaging the exchange of information 19
d ste g C e edy SO
The D istributed Server O ption offers different m ethods for avoiding and
addressing duplicate request ID s. You can assign prefixes to r equests ent ered
on different servers, or, if you choose no t to u se prefixes, specify in th e
Distributed Mapp ing wind ow how a du plicate request ID should be
addressed.
Preventing dup licate request IDs
The best way to avoid having du plicate requ est IDs in your distributed
environment is to assign site-specific prefixes to r equests. For exam ple, you
m ight ad d a p refix ofSAN to requests created on server sanf r anci sco,
creating an ID o f SAN00004598. For m ore information abou t assigningprefixes to AR System requ est IDs, see the Dat abase R eference guide.
Hand ling dup licate request IDs
If you choo se not t o u se site-specific request ID pr efixes, duplicate request
IDs m ight b e generated. In some cases you m ight wan t th e newer version of
a request to overwrite the older version, bu t in other cases, you m ight wan t
to keep all copies of a requ est.
The D istributed Server O ption perform s one of the following actions when
du plicate request IDs occur:
Generates an error m essage and do es no t perform the tran saction.
Creates a new request ID for th e newer copy.
Overwrites the o lder copy of the r equest with t he n ewer cop y.
By default, the overwrite action up dates on ly the map ped fields on th e target
requ est, bu t you can con figure th is action to replace all fields on the tar get
request. For m ore inform ation, see Configuring overwrite behavior for
du plicate request IDs on page 44.
You should d etermine how you will hand le duplicate request IDs for all you r
m app ings, and if possible treat all m app ings the same. Using differen tdu plicate requ est ID strategies can cause adm inistrative problem s when
tracking data.
M atching source and destinat ion requests
By default, DSO u ses requ est IDs to m atch sou rce requests with destination
requ ests. You can, however, use other m atchin g qualifications based on fields
in the source and target form s.
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20 Chapter 1 Using the distributed server environm ent
y q y
Using m atching qu alifications is useful when , for examp le, you h ave existing
data in the source and d estination form s and you do n ot want to u se special
request ID p refixes to distinguish en tries created in on e form from anot her.
In th is case, you specify a data field other t han requ est ID to u niqu ely ident ify
each entry. AR System uses that data field to m atch a d estination r equest (if
on e exists) with the sou rce request.
Note: A unique ind ex shou ld be created on the data field used to u niqu ely
identify one request from anoth er.
See Specifying distributed m apping option s on page 65.
Defining distributed operations
You can perform four pr imary types of data transaction s using the
Distribu ted Server Op tion: transfers , updates , returns, and deletes. The
m ain d ifferences amon g these operations are ho w th ey are initiated (by filters
or escalations, or au tom atically by the system) an d how own ership of a
requ est is treated.
In th e figures in this section , the forms th at are darker in color r epresent the
request that h as ownership after th e operation h as been com pleted. For
sample scenarios of how to perform each of these operations, see Chapter 5,
Creating Distributed Server Option workflow.
Using d istributed transfers
A distributed transfer tran smits inform ation from on e server to anoth er, and
occurs when you ent er or change inform ation in a form . When a requ est is
created or m od ified, the entry triggers workflow to create a copy of the
inform ation and t hen tran sfer it to anoth er form . The transfer m ight include
the en tire requ est and all its in form ation , or just specific data. A transfer isno t auto m atically generated; you m ust create one by defining a m apping and
creating a filter or escalation to p erform the transfer.
Before you begin im plementing th e Distribut ed Server O ption , determin e
how m uch contr ol you need o ver th e data being transferred. Ask yourself the
following qu estion s:
Shou ld one server own m aster cop ies of the r equests being transferred, or
should all copies be independ ent o f one anoth er?
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Defining distributed operations 21
H ow often shou ld I upd ate requests on m y server?
H ow will I han dle dup licate request IDs?
Will I need to override the map ping contro l settings on a per-requ est
basis?
Ow nership and ow nership chains
Ownership plays a large par t in distributed operations , because having
ownership of a request lets you m ake mod ifications to the inform ation.
Typically, you will transfer a requ est with own ership to a server th at can
add ress the request directly. Mod ifications can on ly be made in the requestwith ownership.
Wh en own ership is transferred with a requ est, you create an ownership
chain. The active o wnership chain begins with the r equest that h as
ownership, and extends to th ose requests from which ownership was
transferred.
For examp le, you have a requ est with own ership on server sanf r anci sco, but
the issue m ust be add ressed from server chi cago. You t ran sfer that r equest
with ownership to server chi cagoyou transfer ownership so that chi cago
users can m ake necessary m odification s to th e request. Depending on your
workflow con figur ation s, server sanf r anci sc o m ight receive up dates of the
changes made o n server chi cago through a distributed upd ate operation.
Server sanf r anci sco canno t, however, m ake mo difications to th e request
un less the request is return ed with ownership thr ough a distributed retu rn
operation.
Note: The com bination o f transferring ownership and overwriting existing
requests in a ch ained environm ent can create an infinite loo p . To perform
a chained d istributed transfer, you m ust enable the O verride Loop
Detection option in the filter that p erforms the tran sfer. For m ore
inform ation, see Avoiding infinite loop s on page 109.
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Types of distribu ted transfer ope rations
Four types of transfer o perations enable you to m anage your requests on
m ultiple servers.
Data-only
Data+Ownership
Independent Copy
Copy+Delete
Data-only
Data-only transfers let you t ransfer a r equest to an oth er server, most
typically for archiving and as futur e inform ation resour ces. Because data-
on ly copies do n ot ho ld ownership, they cann ot be m odified and cann ot
begin an ownership chain.
Data+Ownership
D ata+ Ow nership transfers let you transfer a r equest with o wnership to
anoth er server so that u sers on the target server can m ake necessary
m od ification s. Because a request with ownership is con sidered a m aster copy,
you can m ake mo difications that will be up dated o n all copies of the request
within the ownership chain.
Independent copy
Independ ent co py transfers are like data-on ly tran sfers because they are
transferred withou t ownership and d o no t receive upd ates from th e mastercopythey are outside of the ownership chain. You can m odify independ ent
copies, which can start new own ership chains of their own .
Copy+Delete
Copy+Delete transfers let you tran sfer an independ ent copy of a requ est to a
specified server, and t hen delete the original request.
Wh en d efining you r m appings for t hese transfer op erations, consider what
kind of data you are transferring. Dynam ic data, such as an entry in a bu g
tracking form , is often m odified at the site to which it is transferred. Th is type
of data can be tran sferred in a d ata+o wnership tran sfer.
Static data, such as custom er biograph ical inform ation , is probab ly no t
m odified at th e site to wh ich it is transferred, and can be tr ansferred as a data-
on ly or indepen dent copy.
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Defining distributed operations 23
Overriding m app ing settings on a per-request basis
Som etimes ind ividual tran sfers require you to use an existing m apping, but
change how one or m ore of the fun ctions defined in th e Distributed M apping
window is used for th e m apping. For exam ple, you have a mapp ing with t hestandard transfer m ode d efined as data-on ly, but for on e particular transfer
perform ed by that m apping, you n eed to send data andownership.
The D istributed Server O ption lets you add to any form distributed fields
that accept the same values as their coun terparts in the D istributed Mapp ing
window. In turn , when a user subm its or m odifies data in the form, the
workflow can assign values into t he distribu ted fields to overr ide the pr e-set
definitions in th e distributed m apping. In th e previous example, you wouldadd distributed fields to t he form in qu estion, and then select
Data+Ownership in the Transfer Mod e field.
Note: In th e figures in this section, th e forms th at are darker in color
represent the requ est that h as ownership after the operation has been
com pleted. For sample scenarios of how to perform each o f these
operations, see Chapter 5, Creating D istributed Server O ption
workflow.
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24 Chapter 1 Using the distributed server environm ent
Figure 1-1: Transfer f low
For mor e information about how the AR System determ ines m apping
criteria for a tr ansfer, see Creating DSO actions in filters and escalations onpage 82.
Using distributed up date s
A distributed update is used to keep all cop ies of a request within an
ownership chain curr ent with the m aster copy. Mo dified inform ation from
the request with own ership is sent t o all copies of a requ est within anown ership chain at a specified time int erval. Upd ates occur au tom atically,
depend ing on the up date option specified in the m apping.
Copy
Original
Bug tracking form on serversanfrancisco. Originalentry made here.
Entry transferred to serverchicago.
1
2
Transfer
1
2
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Defining distributed operations 25
For examp le, you have a broken keyboard , so you subm it a replacement
requ est on server sanf r anci sco. Because office equipm ent r eplacemen ts are
han dled by server chi cago, the requ est is transferred using a data+ ownership
distribut ed tran sfer operation (creating an ownership chain between
sanf r ancsi co an d chi cago). After the keyboar d has been replaced, the
request status is chan ged to Com pleted. Th is status chan ge triggers an up date
of the n ew inform ation back to server sanf r anci sco, upd ating their copy of
the requ est.
The D istributed Server O ption pro vides five option s to contr ol when
requests in an active ownership chain are up dated by m odifications to the
m aster copy. You can specify to en able upd ates im m ediately, once an hou r,
on ce daily, on a d istributed r eturn operation , or no t at all.
Variou s factors shou ld influence your determ ination of whether to u pd ate
a requ est.
If the m app ing you define is between two form s whose requests are static,
you pro bably do n ot n eed to up date you r copy, because the original and
the copy will remain u nchan ged after the tr ansfer.
If you an ticipat e that u sers at the o ther site will modify distribu ted
requests you m ake and th at you requ ire those mod ifications, then you will
want to up date your cop y.
If you decide you want to u pdate requ ests on your server, you m ust
determ ine the update interval. Som e changes to r equests will be so u rgent
that you will want t o see tho se chan ges imm ediately. Other chan ges that ar e
no t so imp ortan t can b e deferred to a greater interval, such as ho ur ly or d aily.In o ther cases, you m ight o nly want your copy upd ated when anot her site is
return ing ownership of the request to you.
The following figur e shows the basic flow of a distribu ted u pd ate.
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26 Chapter 1 Using the distributed server environm ent
Figure 1-2: Update flow
Using d istributed returnsA distributed return is used to send t he up dated requ est, with o wnership,
back to th e originating server. Distribu ted retur ns are tr iggered using a filter
or escalation o n th e server that sends the retu rning requ est.
Using the previous exam ple from the D istributed Upd ates section , you have
a broken keyboard , so you subm it a repair request on server sanf r anci sco.
Because office equipm ent r epairs are han dled by server chi cago, the requ est
is tran sferred u sing a d ata+own ership d istributed tran sfer operation
(creating an o wnership chain between servers sanf r ancsi co an d chi cago).
After th e keyboar d h as been fixed, the requ est statu s is chan ged to
Completed.
The original is then updated onserver sanfrancisco.
Bug tracking form owned by
server chicago. An entry isfirst modified here.
Update
1
2
1
2
Original
Copy
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Defining distributed operations 27
Server sanf r anci sco has requ ested, ho wever, that the request with
ownership be return ed to server sanf r anci sco after the status of the request
is chan ged to Com pleted. When th e statu s chan ge is m ade, workflow is again
triggered an d t he m odified requ est with own ership is transferred back to
server sanf r anci sco, leaving a data-o nly copy of the requ est on serverchi cago. The request can no w be m odified on server sanf r anci sco again, if
necessary.
The following figur e shows the basic flow of a distributed retu rn with
ownership.
Figure 1-3: Return flow
Original
Ownership is returned to serversanfrancisco.
Bug tracking request on server chicago.The return is triggered here.
1
2 Return
1
2
Copy
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Using d istribut ed deletes
A distributed delete lets you d elete cop ies of a requ est. If you delete the
m aster copy in an active ownership chain , all cop ies of the requ est are deleted
within t he own ership chain. Addition al delete capabilities lets you deletespecific requ ests, including data-on ly requ ests. You m ust specify a separ ate
filter or escalation action to r un the D istribu ted Delete pro cess for each copy
of the requ est.
For m ore inform ation abou t ownership chains, see Ownership and
ownership chains on p age 21.
For exam ple, an em ployee finds that h is pho ne do es not work and subm its arepair requ est on server sanf r anci sco. Because telecom m unication services
are han dled by server chi cago, the requ est is transferred u sing a
data+ ownership distributed tran sfer operation ( creating an own ership chain
between servers sanf r ancsi co an d chi cago).
H owever, the em ployee later discovers that h is phon e is unp lugged, not
bro ken, and calls the service center to can cel the repair requ est. In stead of
changing the status of the request to Com pleted, the suppo rt p erson changesthe statu s to Can celed. Previously con figured workflow executes a
distributed delete operation when the status changes to Can celed, and deletes
the m aster copy of that requ est on server chi cago, as well as the cop y of that
request on server sanf r anci sco.
Note: All cop ies of a request within an own ership chain ar e deleted in a
distributed delete operation.
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Overview of setting up distributed op erations 29
Overview of sett ing up distribut ed operations
To set u p distributed operations between similar o r d ifferent forms, follow
these basic steps, which are detailed in t his manual.
Step 1 License and start the Distributed Server Op tion o n every server involved in a
DSO tr ansfer.
Note: You d o need n ot to h ave DSO license on t arget server if it is no t sending
any respon se back to sour ce server.
Step 2 Determine which forms need to b e m apped to each other.
Step 3 Determ ine whether you will use distributed poo ls, based on the volum e of
distribu ted op eration s that will be pro cessed.
Step 4 Determ ine the amo un t of contr ol you n eed over the data being transferred.
Step 5 Decide which ownership and con tro l capab ilities you n eed and , if necessary,add th e approp riate fields to each form . For m ore inform ation, see Working
with distributed fields on form s on p age 50, and To specify or ch ange
distributed m apping transfer definitions on page 70.
Step 6 Using BMC Remedy Adm inistrato r, log in to all servers to be used in the
distributed operation .
Step 7 Select an app rop riate server, the Form s server object, and an ap plicable form ,
accordin g to the form s you selected in Step 2.
Step 8 Add distribu ted fields to each form using the Distribut ed Fields windo w,
depend ing on th e level of contro l decided on in step 4.
If you plan to tr ansfer requests with o wnership, you need to add ap pro priate
distribu ted fields to every sou rce and target form on each server. Repeat steps7 and 8 for each ap plicable form.
For m ore inform ation abou t d istribut ed fields, see Working with
distributed fields on form s on p age 50.
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30 Chapter 1 Using the distributed server environm ent
Step 9 Create a new D istributed M apping object on each server involved.
This object identifies the From and To servers and their correspon ding
form s, and specifies op tion s such as tran sfer of ownership an d frequency of
up dates. For m ore inform ation, and for d escriptions of the fields on each tabof the Distributed M apping window, see Creating and m odifying
distributed mappings on p age 60.
Step 1 0 Create a new D istributed Poo l object on each app licable server for each set
of related distribu ted op eration s, accord ing to your an alysis in step 3.
Each object defines a new poo l or th read within the D istributed Server
Op tion to han dle pending distributed op erations. After defining a po ol, youm ust associate DSO filter o r escalation actions with t he poo l. Assign all
related o perations to the sam e po ol, because operation s assigned to different
pools might execute out of the intend ed sequ ence.
For general inform ation abou t distributed p ools, see Using distributed
pools on page 18. For inform ation abo ut creating, m odifying, and deleting
distribu ted poo ls, see Working with distributed pools on page 78.
Step 1 1 Create a filter or escalation th at defines the con ditions un der which a d ata
tran sfer, retur n, or d elete will occur .
For a d iscussion of distribut ed op eration s triggered by filters and escalations,
see Using filters and escalation s for DSO actions on page 82.
Step 1 2 Op tionally, emp loy som e of the ad vanced fun ctions discussed in the
appendixes.
Un less otherwise no ted, exam ples in th is guide assum e you are m apping
between two servers. If you need to m aintain data integrity on m ore than two
servers, you can extend your u sage of the Distribu ted Server O ption by
incorpo rating additional servers into your environm ent. For inform ation
about using mor e than two servers in your distributed en viron m ent, see
Advanced topics on p age 107
Note: For functional examp les of setting up each distributed operation for
Acm e Ind ustries, a m anu facturer of custom office fur nitur e, see Chapter
5, Creating Distribu ted Server Op tion wor kflow.
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Licensing DSO 31
Chapter
2Licensin g DSO
This chapter pro vides inform ation abou t licensing the AR System . The
following top ics are pr ovided:
Overview (page 32)
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32 Chapter 2 Licensing DSO
Overview
AR System licensing gran ts the full and legal use of AR System and is
necessary for p erform ing operations that chan ge or u pdate th e database (for
exam ple, up dating requests or record s). To ru n an un lim ited AR System
server at you r site, an AR System server license is requ ired. Ther e are
additional AR System server op tions , such as the Distribu ted Server Op tion
(DSO) and Flashboards th at requ ire a separate, additional license.
In ad dition t o server and server option licenses, AR System has user licenses.
There are four kinds of user write licenses you can use to access the
AR System server: read , restricted read, fixed write, and floating write.
The base AR System pro du ct, once licensed with the AR System server
license, comes with thr ee Fixed W rite licenses, un lim ited Read licenses, and
un lim ited Restricted Read licenses. You can pur chase addition al user Fixed
Wr ite licenses and u ser Floatin g Write licenses by con tacting your BMC
Remedy Pro du ct sales repr esent ative or an au thorized reseller.
You can evaluat e the Action Requ est System withou t pu rchasing oractivating any licenses. H owever, you are lim ited to a m aximu m of 2000
records per form .
If you plan t o install any AR System app lication that requ ires a license key
(for examp le, DSO) , you can o btain th e license key information for all you r
prod ucts at on e tim e. You can th en sub m it a single license key requ est to take
care of all you r application s at once.
For inform ation ab out obtaining an d activating AR System server, server
op tion , user, and ap plication licenses, see the Configuring guide.
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Configuring the d istribut ed server 33
Chapter
3Conf igu r ing t he dist r ibu t edserver
This chap ter describes ho w to configure general settings for t he Distribu ted
Server Op tion . The following topics are provided :
Setting u p th e local and rem ote DSO servers (page 34)Up grading previous version s of AR System (page 43)
Specifying a DSO host n ame for d istributed m appings (page 44)
Con figuring overwrite behavior for du plicate request IDs (page 44)
Con figuring the RPC timeou t setting (page 45)
Con figuring DSO for load balancing (page 45)
Using debug trace m ode to create log files (page 46)For m ore inform ation abo ut Action Request System (AR System) server
m anagement, see the Configuring guide and the Optim izing and
Troubleshooting guide.
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Set ting up the local and rem ote DSO servers
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34 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
Set ting up the local and rem ote DSO servers
AR System 7.0 lets you con figure AR System servers involved in d istribu ted
operations with different RPC program n um bers, por t nu m bers, and
passwords th rou gh server inform ation settings.
Server inform ation settings for th is release of the Distribu ted Server Op tion
have changed. If you have upgraded from a p revious version , you r o riginal
settings are preserved and can be accessed th rou gh th e ar . cf g (Windows) or
ar . conf (U NIX) file. You m ight wan t to m igrate to th e new settings.
See theRelease N otes for upgrade instructions.
Configuring a local AR System server
If you want to configure com m un ication, firewall protection, and password
security, you m ust do so for th e local DSO server before configuring any
remo te DSO servers.
After you con figure the local AR System server, you en ter inform ation for
rem ote AR System servers. For m ore inform ation abou t configuring remot e
AR System servers, see Configur ing a rem ote AR System server on page 41.
Assigning a d edicated RPC program num ber to a local
server
Altho ugh u sing specific RPC program nu m bers is not r equired by the
Distribu ted Server Op tion , you m ight d ecide to assign specific RPC pro gram
nu m bers if you have a large environm ent with h eavy dat a traffic, or if you r
environ m ent has a large am oun t of distribution .
If you plan on using a specific RPC program nu m ber, it m ust be either 390600
(the Adm inistrator pr ogram n um ber) or in the following range: 390621 to
390634,390636 to 390669, or 390680 to 390694, the ran ge for pr ivate servers. Th e
distributed server uses the assigned pro gram n um ber for all comm un ication.
To assign t he Distributed Server O ption to a specific RPC program nu m ber,
con figure the AR System server to define at least one th read on the specified
private server pr ogram nu m ber. The Distributed Server O ption process does
no t con nect d irectly to t he database itself. This configur ation tells it which
AR System server queue to com m un icate with. In t he default configuration ,
the D istribu ted Server Opt ion p rocess joins the fast and list queues like any
other client.
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This configuration setting sets the distribu ted server to use the RPC program
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Setting up t he local and rem ote D SO servers 35
This con figuration setting sets the distribu ted server to use the RPC program
nu m ber for access to th e local server. To con figure rem ote servers, see
Configurin g a rem ote AR System server on p age 41.
To assign a dedicated RPC program n um ber to a local server
Note: The Private RPC pro gram n um ber m ust be added in the Server Ports
and Qu eues tab of the Server In formation dialog box before configuring
the DSO local RPC program n um ber.
1 In BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator, op en a server windo w and select the localserver.
2 Choo se File > Server In form ation.
The Server Inform ation windo w appears.
3 Select the Conn ection Settings tab.
4 On th e Conn ection Settings tab, click the DSO Server tab.
5 In th e Local RPC Program N um ber field, enter the RPC pro gram n um ber for
your local server, as shown in t he following figur e.
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Figure 3-1: Server Information window , Connection Settings tab
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36 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
g g
6 Click OK or Apply to save RPC pr ogram nu m ber settings.
If you r eassign the RPC pro gram n um ber while run ning the D istributedServer O ption , you will not lose any work an d th e changes are transparent to
the u ser. The AR System server, however, mu st be stopp ed and restarted as
described in Licensing DSO on page 31.
Running the Distributed Server Opt ion beh ind a firewall
You can ru n AR System servers behind a firewall by add ing a TCP/IP p ort
nu m ber in th e Server Po rts and Q ueu es window, as shown in th e following
figure.
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Figure 3-2: Server Ports and Q ueues tab, TCP/IP Port field
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Setting up t he local and rem ote D SO servers 37
To con nect to an other m achine behind th e firewall, you m ust specify the
Local Password an d the TCP/ IP Port n um ber for the m achine to which you
want to conn ect.
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Figure 3-3: Connection Sett ings tab , Local Passwo rd and Local RPC Program Nu m berfields
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38 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
fields
WARNING: Do n ot assign a port nu m ber that conflicts with port nu m bersused by oth er applications or oth er program s runn ing on your system . To
find ou t which port nu m bers are already in u se, use the
net st at - a command (Windows) or the r pci nf o - p command (UNIX)
at the com m and line pr om pt. If you do not check available por ts, you
m ight assign a p ort n um ber that conflicts with other applications, and
your servers might not start as expected.
To co nfigure Distributed Server Op tion to run beh ind a firewall
1 In BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator, op en a server windo w and select the local
server.
2 Choo se File > Server In form ation.
The Server Inform ation windo w appears.
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
3 Select the Server Port s and Qu eues tab.
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Setting up t he local and rem ote D SO servers 39
4 In th e Server TCP/ IP Port field, enter th e port nu m ber u sed for th e local
server.
5 Click O K to save your settings.
For m ore inform ation abou t configurin g servers in the AR System
environm ent, see the Configuring guide. For inform ation abo ut registering
with a portm apper, see theIn sta llin g guide.
Configuring p assw ord security on the local D SO server
The D istributed Server O ption perform s all operations as the fixed u ser,Distributed Server. You are no t required to create a user n am ed Distributed
Server as it is aut om atically created b y AR System Server.
The D istributed Server u ser h as con trolled p erm issions an d a locked nam e,
but does not require any add itional licensing.
To con trol server comm un ication an d u ser access in Distributed Server
operation s, you will need to con figure passwords in BMC Rem edyAdmin istrator for both the local and rem ote distributed servers. By
configurin g passwords for both local and rem ote servers, you can limit which
servers can com m un icate with each oth er thr ough th e Distributed Server
Op tion, and pr event u nau thor ized access to AR System .
A server with password settings can tr ansfer inform ation t o a server that d oes
no t have password settings. A server withou t password settings, however,
canno t tr ansfer inform ation t o a server with password settings, un less thetarget con nection p assword is set for t hat server. Tha t is, tran sfers will no t
work if the target conn ection password does not m atch the settings on th e
destination server.
Note: Older clients will not ask for these passwords when talking to a n ewer
server. Newer clients talking with older servers will receive an ARERR 218
Ser ver i nf or mat i on associ at ed wi t h t hi s t ag cannot be r et r i evederror message.
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Note: If you are creating password s for the App lication Service and DSO
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40 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
Note: If you are creating password s for t he App lication Service and DSO
server, you can set the m inimu m API version to 10 to m ake sure th at
secure 7.0 servers canno t com m un icate with servers ru nn ing previous
AR System versions. For inform ation ab ou t setting the API version, seeth e Configuring guide.
To co nfigure passwo rd security for a local AR System server
1 In BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator, op en a server windo w and select the local
server.
2 Choo se File > Server In form ation.
3 From the Server Inform ation windo w, click the Con nection Settings tab, and
then click the DSO Server tab.
Figure 3-4: Connection Settings DSO Server tab
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
4 Enter t he password into t he Local Password field.
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Setting up t he local and rem ote D SO servers 41
Note: The DSO Local Server Password can be an y strin g up to 30 characters.
5 Click O K.
You m ust stop and restart the AR System server for con nection settings to
take effect.
Configuring a rem ote AR System server
You can con figure all remo te servers with p assword secur ity, assign d edicated
RPC program n um bers, and assign TCP/IP po rt nu m bers using the
Con nection Settings tab of the Server Inform ation wind ow.
To co nfigure a rem ote AR System server for Distributed Server
Option o perations
1 In BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator, open a server wind ow and select a remo teserver.
2 Choo se File > Server In form ation to o pen t he Server Inform ation windo w.
3 Select the Conn ection Settings tab, and then click the DSO Server tab.
4 In the Tar get Con nection Settings pane, enter t he following information , if
applicable:
Server N am e
Password
RPC Program N um ber
Por t If the remo te target server is ru nn ing behind a firewall, you will
need to enter a port num ber.
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Figure 3-5: Connection Settings DSO Server tab
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42 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
5 Click OK or Apply.
6 Repeat th is pro cedure for each rem ote server.
Note: You m ust restart each AR System server for the con nection settings to
take effect.
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Up grad ing p revious versions of AR System
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Upg rading p revious versions of AR System 43
In versions of AR System prior to 5.1, you configure RPC program and por t
nu mb ers using the Di st r i but ed- RPC- Socket an d DSO- pr i vat e- dest - por t
settings. Now, you can con figur e these settings using BMC Remed yAdministrator as explained in Con figurin g a local AR System server on
page 34, but you will need to d elete the settings in t he ar . cf g (Windows) or
ar . conf (U NIX) file, or they will override settings mad e in BMC Remed y
Administrator.
After you up grade the AR System an d u se the n ew metho ds for setting the
RPC program an d po rt nu m bers, the Distributed Server RPC Program
Nu m ber field in the Server Inform ation wind ow will appear disabled.
To set RPC program nu m bers and p orts for local and rem ote servers, review
the pr ocedures that begin with Setting up t he local and rem ote DSO servers
on page 34.
To remo ve RPC program and po rt num ber settings from
con figuration files (W indow s)1 Open the ar . cf g file. The typical path is \ Conf \ ar . cf g.
2 Delete the Di st r i but ed- RPC- Socket an d DSO- pr i vat e- des t - por t settings.
3 Save the file.
4 Repeat this procedu re for each associated AR System server.
5 Stop and restart each applicable AR System server.
To remo ve RPC program and po rt num ber settings from
con figuration files ( U N IX)
1 Open the ar . conf file. The typical path is / conf / ar . conf .
2 Delete the Di st r i but ed- RPC- Socket an d DSO- pr i vat e- des t - por t settings.
3 Save the file.
4 Repeat this procedu re for each associated AR System server.
5 Stop and restart each applicable AR System server.
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Specifying a DSO host nam e for distributed m appings
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44 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
The DSO uses the default server n am e for th e From server, un less you specify
the DSO host nam e parameter. The DSO h ost nam e param eter will override
the From Server r eference in the filter DSO action an d D SO m apping. You
can configure th e AR System to u se the fully qualified dom ain nam e (FQDN )
or long nam e for d istributed operations, as required by some op erating
environ m ents. The DSO will place this nam e into th e From Server field, if
this field is on th e form .
See Wor king with d istributed fields on forms on p age 50 for m ore
inform ation abou t adding distributed fields to form s.
To specify a DSO ho st name for distributed m appings
1 Stop the Action Request System Server service.
2 Open the ar . cf g file (Wind ows) or ar . conf file (UN IX).
3 Enter the ho st nam e in th e following form at:
DSO- Hos t - Name: .
where is the short nam e of the From server, such as sanf r anci sco,
an d is the do m ain nam e of the From server, such as acme. com.
4 Save the ar . cf g file (Windo ws) or ar . conf file (UN IX).
5 Start the Action Requ est System Server service.
For m ore inform ation abou t server n am es in the Action Request System
environm ent, see the Configuring guide.
Configuring overw rite b ehavior for dup licate
request IDs
If you select the overwrite action for h and ling du plicate requ est IDs, the
default behavior u pdates on ly the m apped fields on the tar get r equest. You
can con figure th e overwrite action to overwrite the con tents of the target
request.
To con figure overwrite behavior fo r duplicate request ID s
1 Stop the Action Request System Server service.
2 Open the ar . cf g file (Wind ows) or ar . conf file (UN IX).
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
3 Enter th e following flag to u pdate m apped fields and set u nm apped fields to
NULL:
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Configuring the RPC tim eout setting 45
DSO- Mer ge- DupI D- Over wr i t e : T
4 Save the ar . cf g file (Wind ows) or ar . conf file (UN IX).5 Start the Action Requ est System Server service.
For m ore inform ation abou t strategies for h and ling du plicate requ est IDs,
see H andling du plicate request IDs on page 19.
Configuring th e RPC tim eout set ting
You can configure t he RPC tim eout setting for pend ing distributed
operations to accomm odate slow network conn ections or large am oun ts of
data. If you d o no t configu re this setting, the system u ses a default timeou t.
To configure the RPC timeo ut setting
1 Open the ar . cf g file (Wind ows) or ar . conf file (UN IX).
2 Enter th e RPC tim eout flag in the following format:
DSO- Ti meout - Nor mal :
where t ime represents the num ber of seconds before a timeou t occurs.
The tim eout value m ust be an integer between 60 and 21600, which
configures the tim eout for p eriods ranging from 60 seconds to 6 ho urs.
3 Save the ar . cf g file (W ind ows) or ar . conf file (UNIX). You do n ot n eed torestart t he Action Request System Server service for th e setting to take effect.
Configuring DSO for load balancing
To con figure DSO for load balancing, in ad dition to the h ardware load
balancer, you m ust have multiple server machines using a single dat abase.
You can use server groups to con figure m ultiple server mach ines to use asingle d atabase.
In ad dition to allowing multiple servers to u se a single datab ase, using server
groups p rovides increased scalability and reliability, and allows several
servers to be m anaged as a un it. If you im plement server groups, there is no
further AR System configuration necessary to imp lem ent load balancing. See
the Configuring guide.
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
For m ore inform ation abou t configuring D SO for load balancing, see the
BMC Remedy white paper, Using a H ardware Load Balancer with AR System
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46 Chapter 3 Configuring th e distributed server
6.0 Servers, which is located on the Cu stomer Sup por t website at ht t p: / /
suppor t web. r emedy. com.
Using debu g trace m ode to create log files
The D istributed Server Op tion includes a debug trace mo de. In debu g trace
m ode, distributed operation tracing is active and the AR System creates two
log files of distributed server activity. One log file is for the general
distribu ted server activity; the o ther is for t he d istribu ted p ool server activity.
You can activate logging at any t ime; logging will start im m ediately. Each log
file is flu shed and restarted wh en you restart t he Distribu ted Server Option
or wh en you r eactivate logging after it has been d eactivated. Wh en th is
occur s, the previou s log file is written to . bak.
You shou ld be aware that t his log file con sum es increasing amo un ts of disk
space as messages accum ulate. You cann ot lim it th e size of this log file, as you
can ot her log files, in the Server In formation window. You m ight want tom on itor your disk resour ces carefully while logging is active.
You can enter a location and n ame oth er than the default location and n am e
for the log files created in debu g mod e.
See the Opt im izing and T roubleshooting guide for mo re inform ation about
using log files; see th e Configuring guide for inform ation abou t setting debug
modes.
To set up d istributed server logging
1 In BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator, o pen a server window and select a server.
2 Choo se File > Server In form ation.
The Server Inform ation window app ears
3 In t he Server Infor m ation win do w, click the Log Files tab, as shown in t hefollowing figure.
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
Figure 3-6: Server Information window Log Files tab
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Using debu g trace mode to create log files 47
4 Select the D istributed Server check box to enable debug trace m ode an d m ake
the File Nam e field available. You can specify a pat h an d file nam e for a
distribu ted server log file, or you can accept t he default path an d file nam e byleaving this field blank.
Important: Wh en n am ing log files, do notuse special characters (such as :
and / an d ?). Use alphan um eric characters only.
5 Click OK or Apply to activate distribu ted server logging.
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Implem enting the Distributed Server Option 49
Chapter
4Im plem ent ing t he Dist r ibut edServer Opt ion
This chapter d escribes the steps you m ust follow to im plement a distributed
m apping using BMC Remedy Adm inistrator an d th en shows you h ow to
adm inister th e data tr ansfer flow between form s.
The following topics are provided :
Wor king with distribut ed fields on form s (page 50)
Wor king with distributed m appings (page 57)
Specifying distributed m apping retu rns (p age 74)
Wo rking with distributed po ols (page 78)
Using filters and escalations for DSO actions (page 82)Con trolling pend ing tran sfer inform ation (page 90)
Only users with p erm issions will be able to con figure th e Distribut ed Server
Op tion in BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator. See the Form and A pplication O bjects
guide for inform ation abo ut defining access contro l.
Important: You m ust obt ain a separate license for t he sour ce server in your
distributed en viron m ent, or the distributed m enu item s will no t appear inBMC Remedy Adm inistrator . For inform ation abou t licensing servers, see
Licensing DSO on page 31.
The target server does not need a DSO license if the target server is not
sendin g a respon se back to sour ce server.
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50 Chapter 4 Implem enting the D istributed Server Option
This section discusses the Distribu ted Fields window, which is used to m od ify
differen t con figurat ions of reserved fields on form s. In m ost cases, the first
action you take when creating a distributed m apping is to decide whichform s you want to make d istributed that is, which on es will be
transferring som e or all of their d ata to form s on different m achines. A
nu m ber o f reserved fields can b e added to th e form s. These fields, described
in th is section, are u sed to sup por t various functions of the system .
WARNING: If you already have add ed distribu ted fields to you r form s in a
previou s version of the AR System , you m ust op en each form in BMC
Remedy Adm inistrator and re-ad d th e distribu ted fields. Th is will help
you m ake sur e that the n ew From Pool distribu ted field is also present on
you r form s.
Note: If a form used in a distributed server operation is archived, the
distribu ted fields will be cop ied to th e archive form bu t will not beup dated. You canno t add distribut ed fields to an archive form .
See Table 1-1 on page 17 for d istribu ted fields grou ped by level in th e
Distributed Fields window.
Using t he distributed fields w indowYou m ust, at a min imu m , add Basic distribu ted fields to all form s that will be
involved in t ran sfers with ownership. These distribut ed fields hold
inform ation used in request return and upd ate operations.
Use the Distribu ted Fields window, shown in Figure 4-2 on page 58, to:
Add d istribu ted fields to or delete distribu ted fields from a specified form .
You can also adjust th e levels of distribu ted fields on a form by changing
the distribut ed fields to a h igher or lower selection . For exam ple, if you
curren tly use Advanced fields on a form , you can op en th e Distributed
Fields windo w and select a lower op tion like Full or Basic.
Select th e views to which distribu ted fields are ad ded.
Con tro l whether ad ded d istributed fields will be visible to u sers.
Adm inistering BM C Rem edy D SO
To add and delete distributed fields
1 In BMC Rem edy Adm inistrator, o pen a server window and select a server.
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Working w ith distributed fields on forms 51
A list of server objects appears.
2 Click th e Form s server object to see a list of available form s.
3 From the Form s list, doub le-click the form you want to open.
4 Choo se Form > Distribut ed Fields.
The Distribut ed Fields dialog box app ears, as sho wn in the following figure.
Figure 4-1: Distr ibuted Fields window
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
5 In th e Distribut ed Fields dialog box, select a Distribut ed Fields op tion . The
following t able shows available op tion s:
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52 Chapter 4 Implem enting the D istributed Server Option
Distributed
Fields Opt ion
Description
N on e If you r form con tain s previou sly added distribu ted field s,
selecting Non e will delete all distribu ted fields. If your form
does not contain distributed fields and select No ne, you will not
be able to click OK to save your chan ges.
Basic Adds on ly th e distribu ted fields n ecessary for basic m app in g
funct iona lity an d establishing ownership. Values for th ese fields
are auto m atically set by the D istributed Server O ption.
Note: All the Basic fields are system- generated . Several of th e
fields are prot ected an d can only be overridden using the
ar di s t program , which is described in Appendix B,
Distributed Server Adm inistration p rogram .
The Basic fields are:
Transfer StatusSee Transfer and upd ate status on
page 55 for det ails.
Update StatusSee Transfer and update status on page 55
for det ails.
Master FlagA Yes/No flag that indicates whether this
request holds ownership.
From Request ID T he ID of the original request from wh ich
this copy was tran sferred.
From Form T he form from which this request wastransferred.
From Server The server from wh ich this request was
transferred.
From Po ol The distributed pool on the From server that
processed the distributed operation .
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F ll U d f t t l h i f i h lti l
DistributedFields Opt ion
Description
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Working w ith distributed fields on forms 53
Full Used for greater con trol over choice of m appin gs when mu ltiple
m appings exist from the same server and form b ased on
precedence. For m ore inform ation abou t precedence, see
Cont rolling distributed m apping selection.
Th e Full selection includ es all Basic fields, an d also th e following
fields:
To M appingIf this field is filled in , it tells DSO wh ich
m apping to use when transferring the request. If the m apping
specified in t his field does n ot exist or is disabled, th e
distributed operation will fail.From MappingTh e mapping that was used du ring a
transfer to create th is request. Only DSO can set th e value for
this field.
To Request ID Th e ID of the request to which the d ata was
tran sferred . On ly DSO can set th e value for this field.
To Form Th e form to which to tran sfer the request. The
DSO looks for a m apping based on this field an d th e To Server
field, if th ey have been set. If n o m app ing to th e specified form
exists, the distribu ted op eration will fail.
To ServerT he server to which to tr ansfer the requ est. The
DSO looks for a m apping based on th is field an d th e To Form
field, if th ey have been set. If no m app ing to t he specified
server exists, the d istribut ed op eration will fail.
Mapping H istoryA history-tracking record created at th e
time o f transfer. Includes the date an d tim e of transfer, sourceRequest ID, source form , sour ce server, and th e nam e of the
specific map pin g used. The result is a record o f all tran sfers to
this requ est. Only the DSO can set th e value for this field.
Note: This field is provided as an un lim ited-length character
field. If you set a maximu m field length for th is field, records
m ight be tru ncated.
Current Form Th e form in which the m aster copy of therequ est resides. On ly DSO can set the value for this field.
Current ServerTh e server on which the form with the
m aster cop y of the request resides. On ly DSO can set th e value
for th is field.
BMC Remed y Action Request System 7.0
Ad vanced Used to o ver rid e cer ta in map pin g ch aract er ist ics o n a p er
DistributedFields Opt ion
Description
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54 Chapter 4 Implem enting the D istributed Server Option
6 For form s with m ultiple views, select th e views from the Add N ew Fields to
Views pane. Distribu ted fields will be added to o r d eleted from th ese views.
If you do no t select individual views, the d istribu ted fields will be added to all
form views by default.
7 To add distributed fields as visible fields, clearthe Add as Hidd en Fields check
box. To add distribu ted fields as hidden fields, selectthe Add as H idden Fieldscheck box.
Ad vanced Used to o ver rid e cer ta in map pin g ch aract er ist ics o n a p er -
requ est basis. For exam ple, if you ent er a value in an Advanced
distribu ted field, that value will override th e characteristicsetting in the m apping used for the distributed o peration.
Th e Advanced selection in cludes all Basic and Fu ll fields, an d
also th e following fields:
When to U pdateThe frequency with which to up datethe or iginal request if a tran sferred cop y is up dated .
Transfer ModeType of transfer to perform . Valid
tran sfer types are Copy+Delete , D ata+Own ership, D ataOnly, and Independent Copy.
D uplicate Request ID ActionThe action th at will occur ifyou tr ansfer a request and th ere is already a request withthe same Request ID in the To form
Max Time to Retry
Enforce Pattern M atching